CHARACTERCharacter Name: King Asgore DreemurrCharacter Age: 1000+Canon: UndertaleCanon Point: Post-a neutral run where he kills himself at the endHistory:Wiki!Personality: Asgore is widely known to monsterkind as a complete and total softy. Despite being an age-old ruler, he doesn't hold himself apart from his subjects at all; his home is always open, and he's frequently out and mingling with his people. Anyone can drop in on him to have a cup of tea, or even challenge him to a fight if that's really what they feel like doing; though there is a Royal Guard, they don't seem to spend any time actually guarding their royal. He's very nurturing, and enjoys spending time with children by volunteering at schools, as well as tending his garden.

Of course, Asgore also murders children sometimes! Yaaaaaaay!

Inwardly, Asgore Dreemurr is a deeply sad goat. He never got past the loss of his family, and deeply regrets his declaration of war against humans. While he was furious over his childrens' deaths at the time, the anger quickly faded, and he holds no true grudge against humans. They're not all responsible for what happened, and certainly the children who fall Underground aren't. But, of course, he kills them nonetheless. Asgore has a very strong sense of duty, and will put the well-being of his people before anything else - even his own morals and welfare. The promise of eventual freedom is the only thing keeping many monsters going, so he feels that he must keep that promise, no matter how terrible it is. He can drag his feet and delay war as much as possible, but he can never take back what he's done. He has got definite cause for concern; in such an overcrowded space, it could easily be catastrophic for the populace to lose all hope, especially given the apparent tie between monsters' mental state and their physical health.

But, of course, trying to keep everyone happy all the time like he does never really works out in the end. As much as he feels beholden to his people, his actions also seem to stem equally from his general avoidance of conflict and desire to placate everybody. He's incredibly hands-off with his subordinates, even when they are obviously actively avoiding his attempts to check in on their work, and his first instinct is often to place responsibility for everybody's feelings on his own shoulders even on a personal level. When he learns of the awful results of Alphys's experiments, his reaction is to hug her and blame himself for letting her reach such a state - while he definitely should have been more proactive in checking in, Alphys's emotional state is probably less relevant than the part where she kept a bunch of people locked in her basement. When faced with a hostile stranger who doesn't appear human, he will attempt to talk them down even as they approach him with a weapon and then stab him.

Even though he feels dutybound, Asgore obviously doesn't believe that this excuses him from guilt. He does not believe he deserves mercy, and will in fact outright refuse to accept any from Frisk; should they spare him, and Flowey not arrive to kill him, he will instead commit suicide so that they may go free. He has no hope for his own future, though he does hope that they may find a way to save the rest of the monsters on the Surface. Of course, he acknowledges that it's a huge responsibility to give to a child, but he simply cannot see any other way forward. He puts monsterkind before anything, but given the chance, he'll easily prioritize literally anyone else over himself.

Asgore very much lives in the past; his home is unchanged from when Toriel, Asriel, and Chara lived there, and he's still trying to replicate Toriel's pie recipes. The only vague dream he has for his future basically involves returning to what once was, but of course he knows this is no longer possible. Without a biological child, he cannot age, and so is essentially immortal after Asriel's death. The vast span of hopeless years ahead of him probably also contributes towards his general everything.

Inventory: Asgore only has his royal regalia, consisting of golden armor, a purple cape, and his crown. He's also kiiiiiinda got his trident, but that's more of a magical construct than a physical item, so it's not really around unless he makes it?

Abilities: Asgore is one of the strongest monsters in the Underground, with very high ATK and DEF that lets him deal and weather a lot more damage than most monsters. He fights with both fire magic and a magical trident, which can channel both blue and orange magic. According to Undyne, he is also very good at dodging attacks, though he never does this within the game itself. He did survive the war between monsters and humans, so he could probably be very deadly if he actually tried. He's probably also capable of green healing magic, given that Toriel uses it and they have essentially the same in-battle skillset.

Like all monsters, he has the ability to absorb the soul of a newly-deceased human. Doing so transforms a monster into a powerful new form, though they also share control of that form with said human.

Of course, he also shares the weaknesses common to all monsters; being struck by a human who hates him can injure him severely or even kill him outright, regardless of the weapon used or the human's physical strength. As a boss monster, his soul is strong enough to linger for a few moments after his death. A human or other entity with the knowledge and ability could potentially absorb it during this short window of time. The effects of a human absorbing a boss monster soul are not observed in canon, as it isn't known to have happened before, but in theory the human would probably receive a great magical power boost. They'd also likely end up sharing control of their body with Asgore's consciousness, so you know, there's pros and cons?

Also, he knows a lot about horticulture and tea-making. Fear his gardening skills.

Flaws: CHILD MURDER

Asgore declared war against humanity in a fit of rage after both of his children were killed, but he never truly believed in this cause. Despite this, he carried on with it, and has taken the souls of six human children. He regrets this deeply, to the point of becoming suicidal, but he is too afraid of shattering his people's hopes and dreams to stop. The hope that he will free them from the Underground is what keeps many monsters going, and he knows this. Still, he doesn't commit fully to their goal either - theoretically, he could have left the Underground with a single human soul and quickly harvested enough to bring the barrier down and begin his war, rather than waiting around underground for more humans to come to him. There's a number of practical as well as moral reasons for not doing this, but in general Asgore tends to be fairly passive: he will not take a stand against his people, yet he will not take any initiative to further their goals. Instead, he keeps his scientists working to find a way to break the barrier using their current resources, hoping that he can find a third option. His desperation for another way out of his situation blinds him to a lot of other problems with his subordinates as well - honestly, he is really not well-suited to this kind of leadership role. He avoids conflict and wants to keep everyone happy, though being a good leader sometimes has to mean upsetting some people.

As a result of all of these things, his self-esteem is in the pits. He lives alone and in the past, keeping his childrens' bedroom as a shrine and still trying to recreate his wife's favorite pie recipe after all these years. He lies to himself and puts on a happy face for others, but all he's really trying to do is deny that his life has changed and cling to the memory of what he lost. When Frisk chooses to spare him, he will offer them a home and family with himself and Toriel...but if he's not killed by Flowey, these delusions quickly crumble, and he acknowledges that his dreams of having his family back are futile. Then he kills himself to give Frisk a way out of the Underground, asking that they find a way to free monsters on the Surface. He acknowledges that this is an inappropriate amount of responsibility to place on a child's shoulders, and also killing yourself in front of a kid is kinda terrible, but considering the situation and his own unwillingness to either break his promise to his people or come through and make war, it's the only option he sees.